WDW Commando Club

[Cinderella's Fella]

It's been a few weeks since I've been in our thread due to being in the retail food bis, with the Holidays and a few snow storms it has been quite busy

Yopu all know my stance on the new Magic bands & FP+, and with a confirmed 3 trips for this year with a possible 5 trips, you know I'm going top play with it

I do have a question for AP holders, We are planning to get AP's this year, now can they be used for multiple parks in 1 day

Yup, did it today.

 

[Disney Commando]

Yup, did it today.

Thanks Randall, hope you have a great time, I hope we will meet up this year at WDW always a Great Time

 

[Disney Commando]

I am trying to plan out our days in July. I have gone to Touring plans and I did not like the plans much. I have us planned for rope drop to do what we want during the EMH for MK in FL. We are not wanting to do everything FL has to offer, I couldn't find a plan that worked for me. I am coming up with one on my own.

Since this new FP+ started I'm hearing more and more that it's not as crowded during AM EMH and RD, If this is indeed true it is a HUGE advantage for us Commando's

Who would have thought this might actually work to our advantage, if people sleep in later just because they already have a FP+ for later in the day and will not be at RD, IMO this is like giving me a FP++++++ for a couple hours

If there is a EMH in the AM, and EMH in PM, this can easily turn into a 3 park day if you make your FP+ for the afternoon, or can always hit DTD for food and drink, before hitting the park with PM EMHg thinking about it I'm kind of liking this option

 

[Disney Commando]

It's pretty much down to the moment of truth with the new FP+ system, now that all the resorts are on board and most are now Magic Band only (no more key card), the next step was to get rid of paper FP's, well that's now done at MK, I would think all the other parks will follow

I'm sure on the boards during the next few weeks, there will be a lot of posts coming out about FP+ now that the fusion is disappearing

Basically what it will come down to is do you go with the new FP+ system or do you go against the grain and just say No Thank You

As of now I'm on the No Thank You side, but to be fair I will be reading posts about FP+, since we will not be there until the end of April, a lot of game changing moves could be put into play

 

[kmedina]

All of the changes have definitely altered how I plan on touring. I am interested in reading about the upcoming trips and how it will affect my fellow commandos.

 

[Disney Commando]

I am coming up with a new way of touring plan, I am going to combine the way I tour during MNSSHP & MVMCP with the normal way of park hopping & EMH's & RD's

With F&G Fest going on during this trip we want to be in Epcot everyday for a few hours during the time that the crowds are everywhere in the parks ( 1pm-4pm), so during the morning and evening we have to be more elusive then usual touring like a Sasquatch (has nothing to do with my size 13 shoe), I want to be where the crowd is not, get there before the crowd then when they catch up, backtrack then go where everyone was

I'm not going to use FP+ during this trip, and let's face it if they limit you to 3FP for a day in the their system with 1 prime, 1 mid level and 1 lame attraction, Commando touring is going to get real popular if you want to get stuff done

With this I feel that the competition with guests will become to equal to the way we currently tour, so it's time to kick it up a notch, with 3-5 trips planned this year I want to try to go from Extreme Commando to Squatch Commando

 

[Phoenixrising]

Way to go Ron, does this mean that we'll be called the Saskquatch Commando's???? Sadly our trip to WDW won't be for another 3 years, or less depending on if I can find work, which I'm just now actively hunting for.

 

[Disney Commando]

Way to go Ron, does this mean that we'll be called the Saskquatch Commando's???? Sadly our trip to WDW won't be for another 3 years, or less depending on if I can find work, which I'm just now actively hunting for.

It does have a cool ring to it Something else I have observed since the new FP+ system started is that a lot of people got even lazier by sleeping in late instead of using morning EMH or RD since they already have a FP for the ride they want to ride the most

This is where we thrive with less people at a EMH or RD we can do a whole lot more in a little amount of time

If I even bother using the FP+ system it will certainly be for whatever park we go to after dinner and most likely only for the headliner ride

IMO the new FP+ system does not really benefit Commandos, but other guests using the new system certainly does benefit us, there will be times of the day we can be like a fox in a henhouse and pretty much walk on rides without a FP+


Good Luck on finding a job, I hope you land a really great one

 

[Phoenixrising]

To my fellow Commando's I've got a camera problem. On my last trip I lost just under 100 pics as my camera is not transferring the pics into the 8GB memory card I've got. I'm sure it's the camera and not the card, as I've never had any problems with the card. I suspect it's the camera after getting the pics developed this week. I was looking through the pics and it was doing weird things, so it's definitely the camera. I've got an older 8mp Canon Power Shot I can use, once I get a cheap 4GB memory card for it until I find a new camera once I save up the money for it. So my question for my fellow Commando's is what kind of camera do you own and any suggestions would be appreciated. Our family is partial to Sony, so the next camera would be Sony, even though I cringe at the cost of their memory cards. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. I'm partial to a camera that has a 15X zoom or more and a high ISO rating. Any info would be appreciated.

Trish

 

[Disney Commando]

To my fellow Commando's I've got a camera problem. On my last trip I lost just under 100 pics as my camera is not transferring the pics into the 8GB memory card I've got. I'm sure it's the camera and not the card, as I've never had any problems with the card. I suspect it's the camera after getting the pics developed this week. I was looking through the pics and it was doing weird things, so it's definitely the camera. I've got an older 8mp Canon Power Shot I can use, once I get a cheap 4GB memory card for it until I find a new camera once I save up the money for it. So my question for my fellow Commando's is what kind of camera do you own and any suggestions would be appreciated. Our family is partial to Sony, so the next camera would be Sony, even though I cringe at the cost of their memory cards. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. I'm partial to a camera that has a 15X zoom or more and a high ISO rating. Any info would be appreciated.

Trish

We have a Fuji 12x zoom that we have had now for 7 or 8 yrs, it has never really given us any kind of problem, but I feel it burns through batteries quite quickly, It now has a battle wound, packing tape holding the lid closed for the batteries

 

[Phoenixrising]

The one thing I loved about the Sony DSCH50 I have is that I could steal the battery off the older Sony Cybershot camera (my first digital camera), and use it for my newer camera. It came in handy, as I could switch batteries if I had used one up then charge both of them at night to have them ready in the morning for the next round of pic taking. I've had the camera for just over 5 years, and have taken good care of it. It's been on 6 trips and has taken consistantly really good pics. I'm sad to see it go, and while I loved it, I got tired of the bulk of it as it's a poor man's SLR style camera. Since I've got the older Canon Power Shot that DH won at work, will try that one out for a few months, once I get a cheap memory card for it. I already know that it's not going to be a camera I'm going to want to use long term, as I don't like the screen, and it doesn't have rechargable batteries. I'm picky in what I can afford and look for in a camera, as I'm a really good photographer and want something that will meet my needs as a photographer. Whenever looking for another looking for another camera, I look for something slightly better than what I had to upgrade it if I can afford to.

 

[Disney Commando]

I'm a little sad that 2 shows at in the World Showcase will be no longer

- Miyuki the Japanese Candy Artist last show was at the end of 2013

- The Ziti Sisters in Italy last show will be on 2/22/14

These were both Great shows, that we always went to every trip & have even been a part of them as a audience participant and have fond memories of the shows

I do hope they at least replace the shows and just not cancel out the shows all together

 

[Disney Commando]

Got the ball in play, End of April is all booked, End of July beginning August transportation all ready booked (haven't decided where to stay yet ), Last week of Star Wars weekends in June is in debate right now, it looks like it will happen, the hold up is how many days, was going to be Fri,Sat, Sun now it may get a day or 2 added

This April trip is a imperative trip to figure out how to get around this whole new system , with the Flower & Garden Festival, Easter break crowd & the new FP+ there are a lot of things that can go horribly wrong,but the good news is I am not intimidated easily, all I can say is count me in,

 

[AirGoofy]

Got the ball in play, End of April is all booked, End of July beginning August transportation all ready booked (haven't decided where to stay yet ), Last week of Star Wars weekends in June is in debate right now, it looks like it will happen, the hold up is how many days, was going to be Fri,Sat, Sun now it may get a day or 2 added

This April trip is a imperative trip to figure out how to get around this whole new system , with the Flower & Garden Festival, Easter break crowd & the new FP+ there are a lot of things that can go horribly wrong,but the good news is I am not intimidated easily, all I can say is count me in,

That is a lot of trips, but it sounds like you can handle it. I haven't gotten my tickets yet for the April trip, but will in a few weeks and then get to try FP+

 

[compshu]

When we went in September, we had planned to take breaks during the day and relax. We wound up forgetting about that and stayed in the parks from rope drop to kick out every day. We even hopped three parks in one day, and hit up the unleash the villains event on Friday the 13th and left around 1 AM. All of this with three kids under 6. We didn't realize it at the time we planned the trip, but we have found that we are WDW Commandos through and through. For our trip in May, we are planning to spend very little time at the resort and will be in the parks as long as we can.

 

[Disney Commando]

When we went in September, we had planned to take breaks during the day and relax. We wound up forgetting about that and stayed in the parks from rope drop to kick out every day. We even hopped three parks in one day, and hit up the unleash the villains event on Friday the 13th and left around 1 AM. All of this with three kids under 6. We didn't realize it at the time we planned the trip, but we have found that we are WDW Commandos through and through. For our trip in May, we are planning to spend very little time at the resort and will be in the parks as long as we can.

You are member #247, With 3 very young kids it is Great that everyone cooperated and you were able to get full days done, The Villains on Fri 13th had to be one of the best limited time only events they had

With the new FP+ system , I do feel that those who tour the Commando way will have a less stressful time rather than those relying on FP+, mainly because of some kind of plan in play and the willingness to put some time, effort and footwork into our vacations instead of hanging out at the resorts most of the day

 

[compshu]

You are member #247, With 3 very young kids it is Great that everyone cooperated and you were able to get full days done, The Villains on Fri 13th had to be one of the best limited time only events they had

With the new FP+ system , I do feel that those who tour the Commando way will have a less stressful time rather than those relying on FP+, mainly because of some kind of plan in play and the willingness to put some time, effort and footwork into our vacations instead of hanging out at the resorts most of the day

Thanks. Like I said, we had intended to take breaks, but the kids were the ones driving the pace. Thankfully there were no meltdowns, even with a few long waits for stuff like meet and greets at pixie hollow. We went to the villains event after closing EPCOT and spending an hour at Mouse Gear, so by the time we got there, it was pretty late and we just did a lap around, almost got ran over by the Evil Queen, and then went back to the resort. I can't imagine wasting all day at the resort if you plan to use a park ticket that day. We spend the first and last days of our stay at the resort and DTD. Going commando is really the best way to get the most bang for your buck. I couldn't even tell you how many times we rode Pirates and the magic carpets, we lost count.

 

[Disney Commando]

Waiting to see any adjusted hours for next trip in April, since it will be during Easter week I highly doubt that 11pm is the latest park open

So far my plan is to hit the park with the EMH in the morning, around 12 noon leave and go to Epcot (1-4pm is a Great time to do the Flower & Garden Festival everyday while the lines for rides are at there peak)

I have all my dinners in the general Epcot vicinity (Teppen Edo, O'hana's, & Shula's ) for around 5pm, depending on evening park hours will determine where we go after dinner

The big flaw with this plan is anytime we go to Epcot my son is not happy unless we do 3 things, - Test Track, Go to the store in Japan & see the WS Players in England, As much as I like all these things unfortunately a 8yr old does not realize we are there to see the F&G Festival and we will get to the other things if we have time or on our day for that park

 

[think-like-tink]

Mornin' all!

I think my nerves have settled down a little bit about going in July with the new FP+. Maybe.

My plan is to be at EMH. For MK, Do what we want in FL, haul booty to Splash and BTR. I will make FP+ for these again at night. Something we have not before. So, I am excited for that. In the past, we have a full day in the park then left to swim the night away. We have stayed at the MK resorts, my kids LOVED playing on the 'beach". Watching Wishes on swing is the way to go!!

 

[Disney Commando]

Looks like I will be able to really try out how Commando touring will hold up with the new F P+

In April we are there during Easter week along with The Flower and Garden Festival.

A trip for the 2nd week in June is currently being planned, This is during Styar Wars weekends, Car Masters in DTD, and possible Summer concert series in Epcot.

These are quick 3 or 4 day trips but I do intend on hitting all the events along with all the parks .

I want to try to complete everything we want to do without using the FP+ system at all, since it will be busy these weeks, if I can succeed then it can be done anytime of the year IMO I think it may be easier since a lot of guests will to concerned with FP+ or not coming out on EMH's or getting a late start since they already have their FP+s